1

CBC 2020 - A GREAT YEAR!

By Nancy Howell, Compiler for the Lakewood Circle Christmas Bird
Count
When I first wrote the Christmas Bird Count 2020 article for the Western Cuyahoga Audubon newsletter
back in November titled “​Christmas Bird Count 2020: It’s Going to be a Good Year”, ​I never dreamed
that the Count would be one of the best EVER … so it was a GREAT year.

What makes a Christmas Bird Count great?

The weather? Sunday, December 27, the day of the Count, had just the right amount of snow. The day
was mostly sunny and temperatures were in the mid 30’s to lower 40’s which made walking
sometimes a little “too warm” with all of the layers of clothing.

The birds? The 2020 Count tallied a record number ​89 species on Count Day ​and ​5 species on Count
Week​. Not all routes get rare or unusual species, but ALL species and the number of each species are
important whether it was one or six Black-capped Chickadees. Yes, rare and unusual species are special
and the 2020 Count had these species: ​Cackling Goose, Harlequin Duck, Long-tailed Duck, Ring-necked
Pheasant, Black-headed Gull ​(first EVER for the Lakewood Circle CBC), ​Black Vulture ​(first EVER for the
Lakewood Circle CBC), ​Common Redpoll ​and ​Pine Siskin (​ two species of irruptive, northern finches),
and ​Eastern Meadowlark.​

The people? Yes, our participants ARE the most important part of the Christmas Bird Count. Whether as
part of a walking or driving route, or as a feeder watcher, your skills and effort were appreciated. The
2020 Count had ​86 participants ​logging in 45 minutes of “owling time”, feeder watchers and walking the
neighborhood logged in nearly 26 hours, while walking routes tallied 74.5 hours with 73.25 miles
walked. Driving routes tallied 19.25 hours and 140.25 miles. I am always amazed at the dedication of
every participant. Thank you. Mark your calendars for the Lakewood Circle Christmas Bird Count 2021
which will be held on Sunday, December 26, 2021.

The list of species and number of each species is below. Count Week species are noted by the cw in the

Copyright 2021 Western Cuyahoga Audubon.

Creative Commons 3.0 Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works.
Western Cuyahoga Audubon Society, 4310 Bush Ave., Cleveland, OH 44109
Email: ​info@wcaudubon.org​ Web: ​www.wcaudubon.org
 2

tally column. The list of participants follows the bird list.

Species Tally

Cackling Goose 2

Canada Goose 1069

Tundra Swan 49

Wood Duck 2

American Black Duck 3

Mallard 380

Northern Pintail cw

Canvasback cw

Redhead 1

Ring-necked Duck 5

Lesser Scaup 42

Harlequin Duck 1

Surf Scoter 31

White-winged Scoter 6

Black Scoter 25

Long-tailed Duck 1

Bufflehead 36

Common Goldeneye 1159

Hooded Merganser 30

Common Merganser 7

Red-breasted 2929
Merganser

Ruddy Duck 5

Wild Turkey 3

Copyright 2021 Western Cuyahoga Audubon.

Creative Commons 3.0 Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works.
Western Cuyahoga Audubon Society, 4310 Bush Ave., Cleveland, OH 44109
Email: ​info@wcaudubon.org​ Web: ​www.wcaudubon.org
 3

Ring-necked Pheasant 1

Pied-billed Grebe 1

Horned Grebe 30

Rock Pigeon 144

Mourning Dove 192

American Coot 1

Bonaparte's Gull 7488

Black-headed Gull 1

Ring-billed Gull 1288

5

Herring Gull 723

Lesser cw
Black-backed Gull

Great Black Backed 10

Gull

Common Loon 7

Double-crested 24
Cormorant

Great Blue Heron 3

Black Vulture 2

Turkey Vulture 27

Northern Harrier cw

Sharp-shinned Hawk 1

Cooper's Hawk 14

Bald Eagle 10

Red-shouldered Hawk 6

Red-tailed Hawk 36

Rough-legged Hawk 2

Eastern Screech Owl 1

Copyright 2021 Western Cuyahoga Audubon.

Creative Commons 3.0 Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works.
Western Cuyahoga Audubon Society, 4310 Bush Ave., Cleveland, OH 44109
Email: ​info@wcaudubon.org​ Web: ​www.wcaudubon.org
 4

Great Horned Owl 1

Barred Owl 5

Belted Kingfisher 1

Red-headed 7
Woodpecker

Red-bellied 116
Woodpecker

Yellow-bellied 3
Sapsucker

Downy Woodpecker 133

Hairy Woodpecker 24

Northern Flicker 13

Pileated Woodpecker 9

American Kestrel 6

Merlin 2

Peregrine Falcon 3

Blue Jay 471

American Crow 43

Horned Lark 3

Black-capped 156
Chickadee

Tufted Titmouse 109

Red-breasted Nuthatch 7

White-breasted 114
Nuthatch

Brown Creeper 3

Carolina Wren 38

Ruby-crowned Kinglet 2

Eastern Bluebird 12

Copyright 2021 Western Cuyahoga Audubon.

Creative Commons 3.0 Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works.
Western Cuyahoga Audubon Society, 4310 Bush Ave., Cleveland, OH 44109
Email: ​info@wcaudubon.org​ Web: ​www.wcaudubon.org
 5

American Robin 413

Northern Mockingbird 5

European Starling 720

Cedar Waxwing 1

House Sparrow 930

House Finch 188

Purple Finch cw

Common Redpoll 16

Pine Siskin 16

American Goldfinch 299

Lapland Longspur 5

Field Sparrow 1

American Tree 40
Sparrow

Dark-eyed Junco 285

White-throated 54
Sparrow

Song Sparrow 30

Swamp Sparrow 7

Red-winged Blackbird 6

Eastern Meadowlark 1

Brown-headed 1
Cowbird

Yellow-rumped 1
Warbler

Northern Cardinal 161

Last, but not least, are our wonderful participants:

Claudia Anders, Alison Ball, Ken and Lois Ballas, Buster Banish and the Bird Nerds (Angela, Alicia and

Copyright 2021 Western Cuyahoga Audubon.

Creative Commons 3.0 Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works.
Western Cuyahoga Audubon Society, 4310 Bush Ave., Cleveland, OH 44109
Email: ​info@wcaudubon.org​ Web: ​www.wcaudubon.org
 6

Kimberly), Cindy Banjoff, Kathleen Bradley, Nancy Brewer, Michelle Brosius, Erik Bruder, Bob Budzilek,
Marti Burrows, Diane Busch, Barbara Buser, Craig Caldwell, Toby Carlstrom, Lee and Sue Cavano,
Lenore Charnigo, Tim Colborn, Frank Comodeca, Bill Deininger, Gloria Ferris, Maria and Charles
Finchum, Nick Flanik, Kendralin Freeman, Dave Grasskemper, Ann Heidenreich, John and Mary Ann
Henderson, Tom and Marie Herr, Heather Hodges, Nancy Howell, Debra Jesionowski, Anna Julnes, Rich
and Karen Kassouf, Jessica Kowalski, Marian and Jeff Kraus, Joann Kubicki, Duane Kurapka, Jim and
Maureen Lindway, Fred Losi, Paula Lozano, Michelle Manzo, Jim McCarty, Liz McQuaid, Shaun Missig,
Diane Moravek, Robin Murray, Drina Nemes, Penny O’Connor, Bill Ohlsen, Rayka Petkova, Chris Pierce,
Al Rand, Michelle Rodio, Mary Anne and Tom Romito, Karen and Craig Sabo-Herwick, Mike Seliga,
Kathy Shank, Allen Skierski, Ryan Smylie, Kent Starrett, Sally and Paul Svoboda, Dakota Swisher, Laura
and Jassen Tawil, Sierra Taylor, Joel Throckmorton, Kathleen Uhler, Nancy Valente, Dolores Watson,
Dan Wilson, and Mark and Sheri Wincek.

GOOD BIRDING IN THE NEW YEAR

Copyright 2021 Western Cuyahoga Audubon.

Creative Commons 3.0 Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works.
Western Cuyahoga Audubon Society, 4310 Bush Ave., Cleveland, OH 44109
Email: ​info@wcaudubon.org​ Web: ​www.wcaudubon.org